Travelling in Europe

[Lilismom]

Hi There,

My husband would like our 3 yr old to forward face on our trip to Europe this summer. We'll be bringing our True Fit convertible. I suspect most cars over there will not have the top tether points as every time we've been over the cars haven't had whatever we're used to here in Canada, likely a plot to make me go crazy on vacation. If the cars in England do not have those tether points, what do people do - do we use the seat un-tethered, is that safe? I'd prefer not to rent a seat over there, I think bringing our own is safer if we can use it. He's pretty adamant about forward facing the seat because it took us ages last time to install it rear-facing after traveling for 12 hours, so I'm not going to win that battle. If I can give him this I can swing rear-facing at home longer, so it's a bit of win-win.

Thanks!

 

[mommycat]

Wonder if it would be an acceptable deal that if a tether is not available you could try to install RF? And if it takes too long then you can give up and FF? Some vehicles may have a top tether but most will not, I believe. And yes, essentially the answer is to FF without a top tether. This is more reassuring with seats that are available in the US since IIRC seats there are tested with lap belt only and no tether (to the same head excursion limits as a booster). I have a Harmony V7 that is not available in the US and have been debating taking this seat on our upcoming EU trip vs another bulkier/heavier seat that I know will perform ok without the top tether. Since the TF is available in the US I think that means you at least have that minimum if assurance. Of course, non-tethered head excursion is allowed to be much higher than the tethered HE so ideally this would not be the first choice IMO.

Do you mind if I ask what the issues were with getting a quick install on your last trip? And, do you know which vehicle(s) you will be using?

 

[lenats31]

Europeans don´t harness their children forward facing past 40 lbs. The reason is that no safety benefits have been found.

European children will either be seated in a booster seat or in a rearfacing Swedish seat. Many boosters can be installed with isofix (rigid LATCH).

 

[mommycat]

Lena, is your reply answering the "what do people do" question? I don't think the child in question is 40lbs yet. To further add to the EU explanation, seats in EU are designed to work without the top tether and often have features like shoulder belt lock offs or guides higher on the seat back which probably help provide some head excursion limiting similar to the top tether. Tethering is especially beneficial to taller kids because their heads are able to reach that much further and potentially striking objects ahead of them. Since most seats in EU do not harness past 40 lbs a top tether is even less of a necessary design feature.

For us with US or Cdn seats we do have to use the FF seat with no tether or find another solution (RF longer, switch to booster a bit sooner, buy an EU seat, make sure to get a vehicle with a TA or one where you can temp tether to a 3rd row belt, etc.) Some solutions are better than others.

I am adding all this because at first glance I thought Lena was suggesting you use a booster and I don't actually think she is.

As for the benefit of harnessing after 40 lbs, the safety does depend on age to some degree. I am going to go out on a limb (and get shot at probably), when I suggest that in North America there is likely a higher incidence of heavier for their age kids and 40 lbs is probably reached at a younger age by many kids. When you hear about 40+ lb 2 and 3 year olds, there is some case to be made for higher harness capacity.

 

[QuassEE]

I wrote up a big long post, and decided not to post it.

Ultimately, you need to plan for a variety of possible scenarios when you travel. Writing off the possibility of installing the seat rear-facing is doing yourself a disservice, since you never know what you're going to get once you arrive. Getting into a smaller European car, while potentially more difficult to install in, may mean you're more comfortable having your child better protected by rear-facing. Maybe not. Maybe you'll have a European spec car, maybe you won't. Maybe it doesn't really matter whether you top tether or not. Maybe it will matter.

Ultimately, you and your husband need to plan for the widest variety of possible scenarios and just roll with it once you're there. By taking a seat you're familiar with, you're already one step up on many people who travel to Europe. Travel is tough and you just do the best you can with what you have.

Enjoy your trip.

-N.

 

[Lilismom]

Thank you everybody.

Mommycat, the issue we had was simply that we were exhausted and suck at installing the seat. I practiced for a week last time and then when it came time to do it we just couldn't get it tight, it took almost an hour to get it right and I was so flustered and frustrated that he just wants to avoid going through that again.

Letnats31, thank you, but my little one is only 32.5 pounds so still too small for a booster just yet.

QuassEE, you make a lot of sense and I think we will follow your lead as I have had hubby read this thread too. I asked hubs to call the car rental agency and they have indicated that they will try to provide us with a car that has the tether points. If they do, and he insists on ff, then fine. If not, we'll rf like last time and take the time we need. Ultimately I am simply too uncomfortable not using all the safety features we can to ensure her safety. I can't justify putting her in any kind of risk simply to avoid some discomfort or frustration on our part, and your point about possibly being more comfortable with her rf in a smaller car is quite true.

I've also made him promise we'll still have her rf in my car at home regardless. Even if she gets to ff on vacation, I'm not ready for her to ff permanently! We still have another couple of pounds to go before we have to deal with that.

Thanks for the help once again. I really appreciate everybody who takes the time to help answer questions!